When I launched my first business in my twenties, I thought success meant doing everything alone. I believed that if I worked hard enough, read every business book, and put in the hours, I’d eventually figure it all out. What I quickly realized, however, is that you don’t find the most valuable growth strategy in your balance sheet. You find it in your network.
As the founder of Boston Business Women, I’ve watched thousands of women start and scale companies over the last decade. In 2024, women started 49% of all new businesses in the U.S., up from just 29% five years earlier. And while that growth is impressive, the gap between potential and access still looms large. Women still receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, and 63% say they’ve never had a formal mentor. Those two gaps, in capital and mentorship, often stand between a good idea and a thriving business.
The good news is that networking can bridge both. To make it work, women must move beyond the traditional view of networking as transactional. When they do it strategically, it becomes a system for building visibility, credibility, and opportunity.
The importance of building relationships
Networking isn’t about showing up everywhere. It’s about showing up with purpose. I’ve seen too many founders collect business cards or LinkedIn connections without ever forming real relationships. True networking is about depth, not breadth. When you approach connection as a way to create mutual value (rather than solely what you can get from it), everything changes.
One founder in our community, for instance, started a skincare line out of her apartment. At one of our events, she struck up a conversation with a boutique owner. What started as a casual chat about small-business challenges turned into a partnership that tripled her monthly revenue. That opportunity didn’t come from chasing investors or cold emails. It came from being curious, genuine, and open to collaboration.
This is how networking closes the capital gap. Investors fund people they trust. Lenders take chances on those with credible advocates. Relationships lead to referrals, introductions, and insights that can open doors money alone cannot.
Why you should seek mentorship in every room
There’s a lack of formal mentorship programs for women, and as a result, that prevents them from seeking guidance. The best mentorship, however, doesn’t always come from a program. It comes from proximity. I tell women all the time—mentorship doesn’t have to look like a scheduled call with a seasoned executive. Sometimes, it’s a peer who’s just two steps ahead and willing to share what she’s learned.
I’ve seen countless informal mentorships bloom this way. A founder struggling with supplier delays finds help from another woman who’s already solved that problem. A marketing consultant reviews another’s pitch deck over coffee. These moments might seem small, but they create a culture of shared wisdom, and that culture is what sustains women-led businesses.
When we normalize asking for help and offering it freely, we multiply collective knowledge. When mentorship becomes embedded in a community, women stop competing for limited seats at the table and start pulling up chairs for one another.
Networking is about both capital and connection
Access to funding isn’t just about numbers on a term sheet. It’s about who you know and who knows you. The more trust and visibility you have within your network, the more likely opportunities will find you. I’ve seen women secure lines of credit, partnerships, and investors not through formal pitches, but through introductions within their networks.
One entrepreneur I know secured her first round of funding after a fellow founder introduced her to an angel investor. Another landed a wholesale deal after someone she met at a conference recommended her products to a buyer.
Networking creates a ripple effect. Each connection leads to another, expanding influence and credibility. When women intentionally invest in those relationships, they’re also investing in their future access to capital.
Treat your network like an ecosystem
Building a network isn’t a onetime task. It’s an ongoing practice. Too often, entrepreneurs treat networking like a short-term strategy rather than a long-term investment. You should nurture your networks the same way you nurture your customers, with consistency, care, and follow-through.
Reach out even when you don’t need something. Celebrate others’ wins. Offer introductions. The women who do this well understand that generosity compounds. What you give to your network almost always finds its way back to you, often in unexpected and transformative ways.
At Boston Business Women, I’ve watched this cycle repeat itself thousands of times. A new founder shows up nervous and unsure. Months later, she’s connecting others, mentoring peers, and referring business. That’s the power of an ecosystem. It turns isolation into momentum.
Networking requires you to play the long game
Networking isn’t a quick fix. It’s a long game. Some of my best opportunities came years after the first handshake, long after I’d forgotten the initial exchange. The women who understand this approach networking as a practice, rather than a tactic. Every introduction, every conversation, and every act of generosity plants a seed that may not bloom immediately, but will eventually grow into something meaningful.
If we can play the long game together, leading with purpose, giving before we get, and staying connected through the inevitable highs and lows of entrepreneurship, we can close the capital and mentorship gap once and for all.
